Within the genus Capsicum, several cultivars possess an aesthetic value for ornamental purposes in the garden and as indoor pot plants. Ornamental peppers can provide a range of pod shapes and colors complemented by varying degrees of green or purple foliage. Classification of ornamental peppers includes cultivars within three species: Capsicum annuum L., Capsicum chinense Jacq., and Capsicum pendulum Willd. (See, Corley, W. L. and A. H. Dempsey. 1972. Ornamental Pepper Evaluation 1965–1971. University of Georgia College of Agriculture Experiment Stations Research Report 136:10 pp.).
Fruits of the ornamental peppers are edible but very pungent (See, Corley, W. L. and A. H. Dempsey, Ornamental Pepper Evaluation 1965–1971. University of Georgia College of Agriculture Experiment Stations Research Report 136:10 pp. (1972)). The pungent active ingredient found in peppers is the aromatic phenol capsaicin, which is capable of causing severe irritation. Capsaicin is produced by oil secreting glands located along the placenta. The presence or absence of pungency in Capsicum is reported to have simple trait inheritance with pungency partially dominant to non-pungency (See, Deshpande, R. B., Indian Journal of Agricultural Science, 5:513–516 (1935). The degree of pungency within a genotype is subject to unidentified genetic factors and the environment, in particular temperature. (See, Lippert, L. F., et al., The Botanical Review, 32:24–55 (1966)).
Non-pungency is a characteristic of the Grossum Group of Capsicum annuum L. Var. annuum, containing the commonly known peppers Bell Pepper, Sweet Pepper or Green Pepper. (Hortus Third A Concise Dictionary of Plants Cultivated in the United States and Canada, MacMillan Publishing Company 1976) It would be desirable to have non-pungent ornamental peppers thereby eliminating possible hazards from capsaicin in the landscape or indoor environment.